Hmmm, I guess I will neet to perform a Moisture Test before I install the flooring. I assume that I can not get any good readins with the moisture meters that are designed to test lumber and drywall (two pin models). I found a Protimeter Aquant Moisture Meter - Is this a good tester? What oher models would we worth while looking into? What is available on the cheaper end?

Thanks,

Patrick

What are you moisture testing? Concrete, wood subfloor, or the flooring itself?

Hmm... I guess it would help if I would disclose this aspect... It is concrete in my case.
Something else pops in my mind every once in a while... If I would not test the moisture in my slap and would just install the moisture barrier (the Bostik product that is mentioned here all the time IIRC is called MVP4) - this should not hurt - worst case it would not be necessary. Is this a bad idea? (one 5 gallon jug would cover exactly my area)
An other question... someone told me to tape two layers of plastic sheets to the concrete slab - if after several days no condensation has formed inside the plastic cover, moisture should not be a problem. Sounds a bit like the "red-neck way of performing a moisture test" - Is it worse while trying?
One more... Like the Foorguy I live in the Austin area - after many weeks it rained here for the first time. What impact has the weather condition (heavy rain / drought) on the moisture content in the slab. Or in other words how long does it take for me to see the moisture content in the slab to rise after the rain today. Or lets say I would have tested the content a few days ago while it was very dry outside - would I have metered a good result in a concrete slab that might have shown problems during rainy days?

Thanks,


Patrick

MVP is very cheap insurance. The warranty is pretty impressive.

It depends on the size of the capliaries in the concrete. Big capilaries and it sucks up moisture fast. Smaller and it is much slower. It depends how much water was in the concrete mix, when it was poured. You would have to have a core sample taken and tested to determine that.


I use a Tramex Concrete Moisture Encounter to see if there are indicators of high moisture in the concrete.





E-mail me if you need someone to test your concrete for moisture, floor prep, or any consulting.